Warwickshire’s Chief Fire Officer has spoken out about the decision to press criminal charges against firefighters who were cleared of the manslaughter of four colleagues in a fire in 2007.

Station Manager Timothy Woodward and Watch Manager Adrian Ashley were charged with manslaughter following the deaths of colleagues, Ashley Stephens, Darren Yates-Badley, John Averis and Ian Reid after they attended a huge at a warehouse blaze in Atherstone-on-Stour.

The prosecution accused Mr Woodward and Mr Ashley of being criminally responsible for the “needless” deaths of the four men.

Chief Fire Officer, Graeme Smith has condemned the treatment of Adrian Ashley, Paul Simmons and Timothy Woodward, saying he believes that they have been “treated like common criminals, and is calling for the Home office and the Ministry of Justice to carry out an investigation into why the prosecution was able to proceed.

Mr Smith said: “It is crystal clear that these cases should never have been brought to court in the first place. But today neither I nor any of my colleagues in the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service feel any sense of relief. Rather we feel a sense of sorrow and remembrance for the four brave firefighters who died at Atherstone-on-Stour in 2007.”

Both Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Chief Fire Officers Association will be writing to the Home Secretary and to the Justice Secretary to seek a formal investigation into the prosecution.

Mr Smith was also concerned about the “undue aggression” which was shown towards the firefighters during their time in police custody. He said: “The police investigation into this fire took a wrong turn very early on.The police treated decent fire officers like common criminals. The court heard they were locked up in the cells overnight and even had their shoelaces taken away from them. It has taken almost five years and five million pounds of public money to construct a flimsy case against these three men and when it was presented in court it simply fell apart.”

There were two independent reports into the blaze, one commissioned by the police and another commissioned by the Warwickshire Fire Service, which was seized by the police before Warwickshire Fire Service had a chance to consider it.

Two independent reports into the incident were carried out by the police and by Warwickshire Fire Service but were seized by the police before Warwickshire Fire Service had a chance to review them.

Mr Smith said: “Both of these reports contained safety critical information of vital importance to the safety of firefighters up and down the country. Neither of them was released to the fire service until May 2011 – an incredible three-and-a-half years after the fire. I am outraged that the secrecy surrounding these reports meant that firefighters remained at risk for so long.”

The firefighters were cleared of all charges by a jury at Stafford Crown Court. The union has said that it was absurd that the arsonists who started the fire have never faced trial for their crimes, yet those who risked their lives to put out the fire were ‘relentlessly pursued by police and prosecutors.’

Fire Brigade Union assistant general secretary, Andy Dark said: “This was the first time firefighters at an incident were accused of the manslaughter of their colleagues. This prosecution cast a shadow across the whole fire service and caused anger and concern. We are relieved at the not guilty verdicts but firefighters are furious at the police and prosecutors. The criminals who started the fire are still free, but those who tried to put the fire out were arrested, charged and brought to trial. The real criminals remain at large while innocent firefighters faced charges of killing their own colleagues. Police and prosecutors took the worse tragedy in the fire service for over forty years and turned it into a farce. There is still no justice for the families of the firefighters who died because the criminals who started the fire are still free. Many questions central to the safety of all firefighters remain unanswered. Every firefighter and officer at an incident does the best they can with the training, knowledge, equipment and personnel at the scene. Faced with an inferno they all do what they can, some of which is courageous and brave.”

Marcus Giles, Fire Brigade Union Warwickshire brigade secretary said: “Over £5 million of Warwickshire taxpayers’ money has been spent trying to jail firefighters for this tragedy. That money could have been invested in the service to deal with some of the lessons learned so that such a tragedy does not happen again. We are now working closely with the new management team in Warwickshire Fire Service to learn the lessons and improve safety for firefighters and the public. But there is no question some of our work has been delayed and hampered by the decision to prosecute those who tried their best to put the fire out.”

A man has died at a fire in his home in Coomassie, Radcliffe after a fire broke out on 22nd May.

Wayne Thompson, aged 43, was found unconscious in an upstairs room and was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Thompsons partner and their young grand-daughter managed to escape from the fire.

The fire is thought to have started in a chip pan that had been left unattended in the kitchen. There were no smoke alarms in the house at the time of the fire.

A family friend said: “Wayne was a good laugh and he loved spending time with his family. There were always children and grandchildren at the house. Everyone is distraught.”

A spokesperson for the company that Mr Thompson worked for said: “Wayne was a very highly valued and popular member of the team. Many of his colleagues are shocked and saddened by the news and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.”

Neighbour Karl Horsfield said: “I saw the house on fire and smoke was coming through my bedroom window. The fire took hold very quickly. There was a woman in the street screaming and shouting ‘get out of the house’. She was very distressed. The fire brigade were here really quickly and took off the door to get inside. It took quite a while to bring the fire under control.”

14 firefighters too around 3 hours to extinguish the blaze.

Several people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and one firefighter suffered burns to his arms due to the intensity of the flames.

19 residents had to be evacuated from a building after a fire broke out in a block of flats in Oldbrook on 24th May.

30 firefighters from Great Holm, Broughton, Bletchley and Buckingham attended the incident at around 2pm at a four-storey building in Boycott Avenue, Oldbrook.

One top floor flat was destroyed and several others suffered severe smoke and water damage.

Station Manager Steve Wells said: “Firefighters worked hard to stop the fire from spreading further and causing even more damage. As a result, most of the residents were able to start returning to their homes at about 5pm. Our colleagues from Thames Valley Police did a fantastic job to ensure that everyone in the building was safely evacuated, and to move a number of vehicles that were parked near the building out of the way. I would also like to thank the housing association and Milton Keynes Council’s emergency planning staff for all their help and support.”

Greg Smith, Service Delivery Manager for Milton Keynes, said: “The incident caused significant damage and disruption, but we are all relieved that no-one was hurt. I am confident that if these premises had been fitted with domestic sprinklers, the damage would have been much less severe and our attendance could have been significantly reduced, ensuring resources were available for other emergencies in the area.”

There were no casualties reported in the incident. It is not yet know what caused the fire and an investigation will be carried out.

Raviv Dozetas, pleaded guilty to five breaches of the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 and to one offence under the Housing Act 2004 in a prosecution by Bolton Council. He was convicted at Bolton Magistrates’ Court on 18th May 2012.

The conviction follows an investigation carried out by Bolton Council officers on 6th October 2011, at a four storey block of flats in Bolton.

It was found that the fire alarm wasn’t working properly, smoke detectors in the flats had been covered up with blanking caps, self-closing fire doors and emergency lighting were not working and there was no firefighting equipment anywhere in the building.

Dozetas admitted that he was responsible for the premises and had not carried out a Fire Risk Assessment.

Dozetas was fined £3,500 for not carrying out a fire risk assessment and for failing to provide an adequate fire alarm and £1,000 each for the other offences. He was also ordered to pay the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service £3,285.75 in costs.

He was also fined £1,000 for renting out the property without a licence and £1000 in costs to Bolton Council.

Peter O’Reilly from GMFRS said: “There were nine flats in the building and Mr Dozetas profited from the rent whilst putting the tenants at risk. A private landlord should ensure that their flats are safe and this case highlights how GMFRS works closely with our partners to ensure the residents of Greater Manchester are safe. Prohibiting a building is a serious step particularly when it means people have to leave their homes, however Mr Dozetas’ disregard for the safety of his tenants left us with no choice until he put matters right.”

Nick Peel, Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services said: “This successful joint prosecution sends out a message that the council and its partners will seek to take the strongest action against landlords who fail to maintain a safe home for their tenants. Our housing and public health team actively pursue those landlords who fail to license properties that meet the relevant criteria. We would like to remind landlords, of privately rented properties, that they should visit and check their properties on a regular basis and ensure that they are safe and free from serious hazards.”

The owner of a fashion store in Prestwich has been convicted of fire safety breaches after investigators visited the premises earlier this month.

The investigation found that escape routes were either locked or blocked, fire alarms and extinguishers were not properly maintained and staff had not been made aware of any fire evacuation procedures.

Joel Lever, who owns the Mon Amie Studios store, appeared at Bury Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to 7 offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. He was ordered to pay a total of £5,200 for two of the offences. He was also ordered to pay costs of £3,178 and £15 victim surcharge.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that you:

‘must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed’

This means that all companies as a first point in their Fire Safety must complete a Fire Risk Assessment. This must be carried out by a competent person, who is trained to perform risk assessments. Your Fire Training needs, your fire extinguisher needs and any other fire safety related issues you will need to address will be highlighted from the Fire Risk Assessment.

Our team of experienced and qualified Fire Risk Assessors will perform a full Fire Risk Assessment of your premises, and provide you with a comprehensive document detailing the risks found and recommendations to minimise the risks.

Our Fire Risk Assessment is divided into nine separate areas:

Fire safety administration

Fire fighting facilities

Identifying fire hazards

Fire routine and test procedure

Means of escape

Review procedures

Staff/people at risk

Arson prevention check list

Fire warning facilities

When you have a Fire Risk Assessment, you must review this to ensure that everything is still in order. For example, you have a reshuffle of departments and your trained Fire Wardens are all moved onto the same floor of the building so more are required to cover the other floors, or you may have an extension built on your building. You may not even have had any changes in personnel or building, but it is essential that you review the Fire Risk Assessment anyway! We provide a service to review your Fire Risk Assessments for you, whether completed by ourselves or not.

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